Renji Misugi develops his artistic practice from his own experience as an art teacher, taking painting instruction and art history as central conceptual frameworks. His works are rooted in the questions he continually confronts while teaching—questions such as What is art?—as well as in the internal contradictions he experiences simultaneously as an artist and as an educator.

For example, in the work Drawing with Voice, Misugi presents his own spoken instructions—normally uttered during painting lessons—as the artwork itself. Here, the persistent tension that exists between art and education manifests directly through the language of teaching, revealing a fundamental distortion that underlies the act of instruction.

Another project, The Thousand Buddha Project, is an ongoing art initiative conducted in temporary housing communities for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The project consists of charcoal Buddha drawings made by the hands of the survivors themselves. Rather than confining his practice to the closed sphere of the art world, Misugi engages with society through art.

Renji Misugi should be regarded as a contemporary artist who stands as a forerunner in practicing art within social contexts, expanding the role of art beyond its conventional boundaries.

　　Art Journalist Hibiki Tsuge